Earlier this week, Marvel Comics "revealed" a teaser for one more Marvel NOW! relaunch, strongly indicating that Kieron Gillen and Greg Land will be making their way onto "Invincible Iron Man" come November, while Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic are set to be the creative forces behind Thor's upcoming relaunch.

Today, CBR has the exclusive first look at the publisher's latest teaser, which hints strongly at Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu teaming to shape the future of the infamous green giant, the Incredible -- or rather Indestructible -- Hulk!

UPDATED: Waid confirmed the title as being a Hulk book today on Twitter: "Thanks to all for the congrats on HULK, which Leinil Yu and I will take over in November! If you like DAREDEVIL, you'll like this! Promise!"

Dave Richards wrote:Finally, the first issue ended by firmly establishing Bruce Banner and the Hulk's working relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D., but there's plenty more plot left to unfold. Can you give us a sort of "This season on 'Indestructible Hulk'" teaser about some of your upcoming issues?

Sure! This season on "Indestructible Hulk": Frost Giants, the Sandman, Attuma and the lost magicks of Lemuria, the undersea equivalent of the Helicarrier and a nifty, unexpected bit of time travel that allows a guest-star in issues six through eight that will, no kidding, have fans cheering with his (or her!) surprise appearance!

The Hulk is back, and he’s going to smash his way through more masterworks than you can throw a tank at! It starts off with the time-travelling Kang the Conqueror and a trip back to World War I featuring the Phantom Eagle. Then, Hulk takes it to outer space, fighting the Abomination, before falling down to Earth and into the sub-atomic world of the Psyklop. Following the classic introduction of Hulk’s love, Jarella, comes the first appearance of Doc Samson, a battle atop the Empire State Building, and the fight for who’s meanest and greenest against Dr. Doom! With the Phantom Eagle’s first appearance from MARVEL SUPER-HEROES to round it out, there’s no doubt — this is a Marvel Masterworks! Collecting INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) #135-144, AVENGERS (1963) #88 and MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (1967) #16.

joefixit2 wrote:Mark Waid and Leinil Yu participated in a news conference today in anticipation of the upcoming first issue of The Indestructible Hulk.

Following a very complimentary and mutual admiration between Waid and Yu, Moderator and Sales & Communications Coordinator James Viscardi kicked things off by introducing the creative team and asking Waid for an overview of what he the series.

“I’m actually trying to take them on the most imaginative Marvel Universe-based ride we can concoct,” said Waid, who said part of the mission statement was strengthening Hulk’s ties to the Marvel U and he’ll fight Marvel villains as well as show up in Marvel locales. “We want to bring Bruce Banner and the Hulk into the Marvel Universe tapestry. And the easiest way to do that is to make Hulk an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Waid elaborated, saying that one of the things that came out of “Avengers Vs. X-Men” was a philosophical view of where the characters are going. “Bruce Banner’s biggest takeaway of ‘AvX’ is that he doesn’t get to be the science hero. He never gets to be the science hero. He’s the guy who smashes stuff,” said Waid. “We always speak of him in the same breath as we do Reed Richards and Tony Stark, but in the context of the Marvel Universe, Banner spends most of his time in a lab trying to make himself not the Hulk anymore.” Waid referred to the Hulk as a “chronic condition,” hence the title of the series. No matter how much he tries, Banner can’t get rid of the Hulk permanently and has decided to take a sabbatical from trying to control the Hulk. Instead, the mission statement will be “Hulk destroys, Banner builds.”

“Why does my tombstone have to read ‘Hulk Smash?’” Waid said of Banner. “So, he’s gone through S.H.I.E.L.D. and has cut a relationship with them. It’s a good deal all around, but there are layers to it that you’ll see in the first issue.” The writer said there are extenuating circumstances to the deal, citing “background deals” and “background contacts” and the reason why Banner is an agent under Maria Hill will come out during the first few issues.

Yu stated his enjoyment at getting to work with Waid again, saying the writer gave him “a lot of space and a lot of opportunity to draw Hulk.”

“There’s a lot of room to do money shots and even the conversation pieces are well-paced and I’m really happy with how it’s turning out,” said Yu. “Mark really knows his stuff and he seems to be able to read my mind.”

Waid responded in kind, saying Yu brought a “real sense of power to these incredibly powerful characters.”

“One of the things that Leinil’s artwork made me realize is we tend to think of the Hulk as this lumbering brute who stomps around when he’s angry,” said Waid. “I think that’s because a lot of us grew up with the Lou Ferrigno TV show, but those are giant muscles on that guy. The Hulk is fast. … Leinil does such a good job at capturing the Hulk as a force of nature.” Waid said that Yu was drawing the Hulk in a way he felt nobody else ever has.

The writer spoke briefly about the challenge in replicating the success that he’s had with “Daredevil.”

“With Hulk, you don’t get to write witty banter. It’s harder to put him in danger. It’s a less street-level book,” said Waid. “What occurred to me is the commonality between the two books is that like we’d done with Matt Murdock, Bruce Banner has realized the things he’s been doing in the recent past doesn’t work. … Both men have sort of reached that point in their life — and this is how you honor what’s gone on before without disavowing it — they look back on their histories and go, ‘I want to try something different because what I have right now is not working.’ That’s how the internal mechanism of the book works.

“What Stan and Jack did so beautifully when they created the Hulk is they created the world’s first persecuted superhero, the guy who every day of every year of every moment of his life was filled with angst and turmoil about his super powers,” Waid continued. Bruce Banner was the typical morose, the seminal morose portrait superhero. Fifty years later, you can go pick up a bunch superhero comic at random and most of those characters are tortured and angst-ridden now. So, I thought, ‘Rather than Hulk continue in that same route, let’s try to turn left.’ Let’s try to make Hulk’s perspective and his powers unique again as it was back in the day.

“Hulk had a big raincloud over his head back when it wasn’t cool and now that everybody has it, Hulk’s looking for an umbrella,” said Waid.

Waid said there are times Bruce Banner transforms into different Hulks. “Either way, Banner realizes this is not something he can stop. It’s something he can manage … but Hulk happens, as Banner puts it,” said Waid, mentioning that S.H.I.E.L.D. thinks about him more as a cannon, not a bomb.

As for S.H.I.E.L.D., Waid stated the organization thinks they have a tight leash on the Hulk, but they may not and the armor-like apparatus the Hulk wears may not be for Hulk — but for Banner.

In terms of villains, Waid stated he was looking for a villain or villains that the Hulk hadn’t punched yet. “Attuma will be showing up in issues four and five,” he said. “We have Frost Giants on the horizon. We’ve got — of all things — we have the all new, all-different Quintronic Man. Those are just some of the ones. There is actually a big bad at the head of the first year. I don’t want to say, but just keep reading. There is one.”

Yu described some of the design process for the character. “We initially had more of an eccentric look for Hulk. I sent in different hairstyles, mohawks of different sizes. We tried a lot of different looks and armor designs. The one you see before you now is actually the more tame one. … I think it works. It’s not as if it’s never been tried before. The Dale Keown Hulk wore a tuxedo. It’s a mix between the crazy looking Hulk and the human one.

“I’m trying to bring the sexy back,” said Yu.

As for supporting cast in “Indestructible Hulk,” Waid stated there will be support staff for Banner’s new lab. “He needs interns, he needs lab assistants,” said Waid, who stated it was difficult to hire for the position. “We’ve paired it down to a group of lab assistants who premiere in issue three and get explored in issue four. … Each of them has a secret. It’s one of the things that attracts Bruce to them. Each of them have a hidden self inside them. Leinil’s done a great job designing them.” The assistants will accompany Banner on certain missions.

Waid also expressed excitement at the prospect of a Daredevil/Hulk crossover.

For design other than Bruce Banner and the Hulk, Yu said he had the most fun designing a villain.

“I’ve actually enjoyed redesigning the Quintronic Man,” said Yu, who thought Waid was joking when he said he wanted to update the villain. “I think the cover is out on the net somewhere.” (It’s issue #3.)

Although Waid hasn’t done much with Coulson, he stated Maria Hill is a great foil for Banner “because she’s a control freak.”

“She’s not a terribly relaxed human being,” said Waid. “That’s the perfect person to have to deal with a creature that’s all id and no ego. That’s the heart of it to me, that’s the fun of it to me. And Banner enjoying, relishing tweaking her. It’s not above banner to drop a box on his foot in front of Maria just to see her heart stop for a second.”

For setting, Yu said he was surprised he wasn’t drawing New York. “It’s all over the planet,” the artist said of the book. “It’s fun to draw different stuff.”

Waid teased that Yu would have to draw some underwater locations soon. Yu joked that he needed a Google street view of underwater.

The writer further noted that Banner was subliminally trying to control the Hulk and the Hulk doesn’t like to be controlled. “We may see some split personality stuff sooner rather than later.”

Before the call ended, both creators continued their mutual admiration of each others’ skills, with Waid saying Yu was making him look good.

“I’m the luckiest guy in the world because I get to see it all first hand!” said Yu of Waid’s scripts.

“You say that now, but you haven’t seen what I’m going to have you design!” said Waid.

With that, the call wrapped. “Indestructible Hulk” #1 by Mark Waid and Leinil Yu goes on sale November 14.

When Mark Waid was offered the chance to write Marvel Comics' green-skinned muscular monster as part of the "Marvel NOW!" initiative, he didn't know if he had it in him. He wondered if he could replicate the success he had with Waid's recent swashbuckling Daredevil reboot.

"There's not a whole lot of room for humor with Hulk smashing things. It's not as cerebral a book as Daredevil can be," the award-winning writer says.

Then Waid figured out the key to what makes his new Marvel Comics book Indestructible Hulk hum: take Bruce Banner, a man who's hit rock bottom, and have the Hulk's alter ego join the spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D. as both a scientist and weapon of mass destruction.

Featuring art by Leinil Yu, Indestructible Hulk gets its title from Banner finally coming to grips with his very large, clothes-ripping id. In recent comics, the genius has fought for survival in a turf war with the Hulk, wanting to rid himself once and for all of the monster he transforms into when angry, but no resources in modern science can help him.

"So rather then treat it like a curse that he has and spend 24 hours a day to eradicate, he's decided to treat it like a chronic condition like cancer or diabetes," Waid says. "And the way you live with it is you learn to manage it and you learn to make some sort of peace with it instead of it becoming the sole focus of your life.

"It's a little different than diabetes because if left unchecked, it can devastate half a city block."

Waid also started thinking about Banner as a scientist, although it's been a long time since he's been shown in a laboratory doing anything but trying to stop the Hulk. And after the event series Avengers vs. X-Men showcased science saving the day while Banner/Hulk's job was punching stuff, Banner's realized this, too, and decides he doesn't want a tombstone that reads "Hulk smashed."

"He wants to rededicate his life to the idea that he can contribute something positive to the world," Waid says.

Enter Maria Hill, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. She's been tracking the Hulk but Banner finds her first and makes her a deal in Indestructible Hulk No. 1 (out today).

He gets S.H.I.E.L.D. funding and resources to build things to help humanity and will do his best to keep the beast in check. But when stuff happens and the Hulk roars to life, then S.H.I.E.L.D. points him at a situation where finesse isn't paramount — if there's a Hydra insurrection in Montana or a terrorist act in the Midwest — uses him like a living cannon and then picks him up after the damage is done.

"Lather, rinse, repeat," Waid says. "That's the new status quo."

The writer is taking Banner to different parts of the Marvel Universe he doesn't go often to find things that will help him invent — the fourth issue begins a two-part adventure to the undersea land of Lemuria and a face-off with Attuma, while issues 6 through 8 will feature Banner taking his team of lab assistants to the Rainbow Bridge to tap into Asgardian science but running afoul of Frost Giants.

"A lot of that is science-driven, a lot of Bruce exploring, but at the same time in issue 3 he fights the Quintronic Man because S.H.I.E.L.D. specifically sends Hulk on an espionage mission," Waid says. "And if you think you can imagine what it's like to have the Hulk on an espionage mission, you are mistaken."

So far, he's enjoyed crafting the feisty dynamic between Banner and his S.H.I.E.L.D. handler.

"Maria Hill is a control freak — the perfect person to have in charge of the Hulk," Waid says of the character, who Marvel movie fans got a version of in The Avengers. "It's a constant tension between not only her and Bruce but also her and the Hulk. Maria likes every hair to be in place and every last little detail of every mission worked out to the thousandth percentile, and then here comes Hulk."

And how does Banner solve a problem like Maria? Lots of torment.

"The way the Hulk works is there's still always a vestige of Bruce's personality buried deep down in there somewhere. So if Banner likes you, Hulk is more likely to listen to you," Waid says. "That is why Bruce is always getting Maria to pick up the check at a restaurant, getting Maria to lend him 20 bucks.

"And Maria is constantly struggling between the impulse to curry Banner's favor, and the impulse to go ahead and put a gun to his head and be done with it."

In some "Marvel NOW!" promotional images — and designs in the back of the first issue — Hulk is shown decked out in battle armor, leading some fans to wonder why an indestructible Hulk needs such a thing.

However, Waid confirms that it's not for Hulk but instead for Banner post-transformation, when he wakes up trapped under a wrecked building or buried in feet of snow in a state of undress after hulking out.

"If you're sending Bruce Banner into dangerous situations where he's going to turn into the Hulk and turn back out of the Hulk, it would be nice for him to wake up with something other than another ragged pair of purple pants for a change," says Waid, who reveals that Banner's form-fitting armor shifts into shoulder pads, arm guards and other shields when he expands to Hulk size.

In terms of combating villains, Hulk is going to face a "slightly deeper bench" of bad guys Waid is creating or pulling from obscurity, and the writer wants to use others such as the Sandman he hasn't faced for a while in a change of pace.

"You need somebody who can go toe-to-toe" with the Hulk, Waid says. "You can get by on occasion with a Kang or somebody like that who is a little less slugfest-worthy, but at the heart of every issue, if there's not some moment where the Hulk is punching something really big in some giant shot, first off you're doing the character and the readers a disservice — because the book is called Hulk — and you're doing Leinil Yu a disservice because that's the thing he does best in all the world is punch, punch, punch."

Hulk's worst enemy, though, is R.O.B., according to Waid — a tip of the hat to Bruce Banner's first name, Robert. Hill assigns the small Roving Observational Bot to monitor the Hulk whenever's he in action and keep an eye on him.

"Every time you open the issue, you're going to be able to take bets on how many pages we'll go in the issue before Hulk just smashes that thing to bits," Waid says. "There's a closet full of them. Hulk doesn't take that kind of stuff very well."

Banner also has a crew of four S.H.I.E.L.D. lab assistants, all with different specialties and all with a secret reason "for being willing to be part of this suicide squad," Waid says.

One hopes none of them spills hot coffee on Banner in an enclosed space. But the not-so-humble scientist is OK with feigning crankiness with his new associates if his funding is rejected or he doesn't get the materials he wants.

"Bruce is not above at this point just pretending to drop a wrench on his foot just to see if Maria will freak out," Waid says.

Having Banner be a likable character for comic readers — and showing Hill smack him upside the head with a two-by-four to unleash the beast — is important for Indestructible Hulk, according to the writer, but the humor has to always be tempered by the fact that the Hulk is a raging engine of destruction.

"The great thing about the Hulk is that, as we saw in the Avengers movie, I don't care if you're 300 yards away when he changes. You pee your pants because you know your life is likely over, whether you're his friend or his enemy," Waid says.

"It's like being in the middle of a lightning storm — you just don't know. And I never want to lose sight of that sense of danger to the book."

Dave Richards wrote:For Bruce Banner, knowledge is power, and that power allows him to stand tall against almost any foe the Marvel Universe has to offer. That's because Banner's vast intellect and knowledge of science allows him to come up a number of ways to solve problems and take down a variety of foes, and when he confronts a foe he cannot beat with science he knows he can call on the unstoppable might of his alter ego, the "Indestructible Hulk."

What would happen if Banner was suddenly robbed of that knowledge and trapped in a strange city? And what if there was a mysterious and powerful force chasing him down the streets of that metropolis? Writer Joe Keatinge ("Morbius: The Living Vampire") and artist Piotr Kowalski ("Sex") begin answering those questions and more this December when they kick off their four-issue "Marvel Knights: Hulk" miniseries. We spoke with Keatinge and his editor Bill Rosemann about the project which finds an amnesiac Bruce Banner on the streets of Paris and on the run from mysterious assailant.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby on "Fantastic Four"; Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and John Romita, Sr. on "Amazing Spider-Man"; Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagely on "Ultimate Spider-Man"; Chris Claremont on "X-Men"; Walt Simonson on "Thor"; Mark Waid on "The Flash"; Ed Brubaker on "Captain America" -- all comic book runs that have become the stuff of legend. Peter David's time on "The Incredible Hulk" is one of these runs. For more than a decade David guided the adventures of Bruce Banner and his many gamma irradiated iterations. Before David, Marvel's "Hulk" title was floundering on the verge of cancelation. When David arrived, he shook things to their core and rebuilt a new legend that still reverberates in "Hulk" today. As has become his tradition, David's first order of business was to breathe new life into Hulk's supporting cast. Never before has Betty Ross or Rick Jones shined so bright. Add to the mix the excellent character expansion David did with Clay Quartermain and the introduction of Marlo Chandler and fans can see why David's footprint looms so large in the Hulk mythos. As for the Hulk himself, David masterfully delved into the psychological aspects of why Banner had the rage that manifested into the Hulk. Building on concepts introduced by the great Bill Mantlo, David crafted a Banner like no other, a broken man whose rage at past abuses manifests itself as the Hulk. This portrayal of Banner opened the door to elements that have become some of the most popular plot twists in the long history of the character. During his run, David transformed the Hulk into his thuggish gray form, creating the popular Mr. Fixit version of the character. David had the creative cojones to have the Hulk become a leg breaker in Las Vegas and fans ate it up. David also created the Professor, a Banner-controlled super-intelligent version of the Hulk. In addition, David modernized Hulk villains including the Leader and the Abomination, making them antagonists for the modern age. David also partook in some of his trademark world building by introducing the Pantheon, a super-secret race of demi-gods who protect the world. The myriad beings that made up the Pantheon fueled Hulk stories for many years, giving the Hulk many interesting and dynamic characters to play off of. Throughout, his 10-year run, David kept readers guessing, never knowing which Hulk would end up in the driver's seat. The longer David remained on the book, the better it got, grinding out a huge place for the Hulk in the Marvel Universe along the way. David worked with some of the most exciting artists in comics during his immortal run, among them Todd McFarlane, Dale Keown and Gary Frank, who all contributed to the Hulk's success early in their careers, and David's scripts were always tailored to his artists' strengths. When David arrived, the Hulk was a simple monster; when the writer left, the Hulk was one of the most fully realized characters in comics.

"Hulk: Future Imperfect""Hulk: Future Imperfect" #1-2 (1992)

While one could argue against it, it's important to separate "Future Imperfect" from David's run on "The Incredible Hulk." While not receiving the same critical love, "Future Imperfect" can be seen as Marvel's "Dark Knight Returns," a seminal look at a classic character in a possible future that changed how readers perceived not only that character but an entire fictional universe. "Future Imperfect" is a look at what happens when the Hulk goes wrong. "Future Imperfect" teamed David with his "Sachs & Violens" partner George Perez and, with all due respect to DC's "Crisis on Infinite Earths," the project was both creators' finest hour. David's depiction of a broken Marvel Universe shocked readers as did his introduction of the Maestro, a future Hulk who had conquered the world after murdering all of Marvel's super heroes. Readers can pour over Perez' pages for days and still find hidden little details, especially the Maestro's museum containing trophies like Captain America's shattered shield and Wolverine's skeleton. The book was truly one of Marvel's best early '90s releases, standing out in the wasteland of excess the defined the era. It acted as a perfect companion piece to David's "Incredible Hulk," but also stood on its own as a masterpiece of the medium. Come to think of it, if Marvel wants to inspiration for its next "Hulk," film, there are few better options than considering David's imperfect future.

Brian Truitt wrote:The Marvel Comics event series Original Sin is promising the revelation of several important secrets when it begins next month, but this one is a doozy if true: Is Tony Stark responsible for creating the Hulk?

"Original Sin reveals a deeply buried secret shared by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner that dates back to the fateful gamma-bomb explosion that created the Hulk," says Marvel editor in chief Axel Alonso. "After this, all bets are off between Iron Man and the Hulk. There is no going back. There's only manning up and facing the consequences."

Original Sin revolves around the murder of the all-seeing Uatu the Watcher in his lunar headquarters and the manhunt for the killer before all his secrets get out. However, whomever offed the Watcher also stole his eyes, which contain all the history that's ever happened in the Marvel Universe, and an incident occurs where knowledge is exposed about several superheroes.

The possible connection between Stark and the day that changed Bruce Banner's life is one that comes to light, and both men team up for an investigation to explore the truth as they dig into what Stark was up to at the time as well as both men's pasts and presents.

The ultimate answer is "quite surprising," Waid says, "and it's not what not you would expect but neither is it a cheat."

The story also speaks to the core of the characters, according to Gillen.

It dips into the prehistory, friendship and rivalry of the two guys, the writer adds. "At the same time, it's absolutely delineating their characters and saying a lot about them."

Of course, Gillen considers even the question mark of the central story enough to spark an abundance of emotions, from Tony's possible guilt about the revelation to Bruce's anger, since he's had the Hulk hanging over his head like a muscular green sword of Damocles for so long.

Their relationship will change as they go through the investigation, Gillen says. "This is going to be the proverbial emotional roller coaster. These are not unemotional men."

Adds Waid: "Neither is Banner a terribly forgiving human being if he feels like he's been wronged. He may be, but the Hulk is about as forgiving as a hurricane."

He also compares the tale to HBO's True Detective: It's "a really screwed-up emotional journey" with two partners unearthing a lot of creepy, dark secrets they're unprepared for when it comes to the consequences.

Plus, there is the potential third investigator — when dealing with such sensitive material, Stark has to worry a little about his partner turning into a natural disaster and smashing stuff.

"It's safe to say that a lot of this story is Tony trying to dive deep into this investigation and yet be careful about what he shares with Bruce," Waid says. "You never know with Bruce what's going to set him off."

Gillen feels that the Original Sin series focuses on what makes Marvel characters special, and that it's ultimately about both Iron Man and Hulk, among others, overcoming their failings.

On some level with DC Comics superheroes, Gillen says, "the world is the problem in many ways. They're trying to make sure paradise returns. Batman was fine until his parents were killed.

"But with Marvel, as well as wanting to make the better world, there's a sense that on some level they are the problem as well, as big a problem as anything else."

Stark has actually had a bunch thrown at him lately in Gillen's monthly series, including the revelation that he was adopted and has a long-lost brother in the form of Arno Stark.

Waid admits those recent events informed his and Gillen's story, and instead of making him a victim again, they want to use Original Sin to show Stark in a surprisingly and unexpectedly positive light.

"Even given the question on the table, there is sill something very heroic about the decisions he makes in this story," Waid says.

"It's easy to write a cynical story where you find out that there's an original sin and somebody's done something wrong. It's easy to reveal something dark about a character, but the hard part — and to me the most rewarding part — is to try to figure out a way in which that helps define them as a hero rather than just tarnishes them."

Where is 'Hulk' Going? [Spoilers]Few characters are as iconic as the Incredible Hulk... or so malleable. Over the years, the Hulk's been a thug, a genius, a cynical lump of cruelty; but he's best known as being the slow-witted brute. And now it appears he's changing things up again. Spoilers below on Hulk and Indestructible Hulk.

DAVE RICHARDS wrote:Anger unleashes Marvel Comics' Hulk, and it's also what makes him stronger. But if the Hulk were to become truly consumed by rage, could anyone stop such a powerful and irresistible force? Writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema posed those very questions to Doctor Strange and the heroes of the Marvel Universe in 1984's "Incredible Hulk" #300. The solution Strange chose was to mystically transport the Hulk to a place where he felt the Green Goliath could do the least harm, the dimensional nexus point known as the Crossroads. The Hulk would then spend several months exploring the strange reality and the dimensions connected to it.

This October in "Savage Hulk" #5, writer Corinna Sara Bechko and co-writer/artist Gabriel Hardman take readers back to the time when the Hulk roamed the Crossroads. CBR News connected with both the creators about their two-part story that also features the master of the mystic arts, Doctor Strange.